Ben Hahn said more time was needed for forensic testing

January 17, 2012|By Amanda Kerr, akerr@dailypress.com | 757-247-4733

YORK – — Due to pressing speedy trial issues, York-Poquoson Commonwealth's Attorney Ben Hahn Tuesday dropped a murder charge against a man accused of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend at her apartment on Route 17 in June.

Hahn, who just took office as Commonwealth's Attorney two weeks ago, said in an interview Tuesday afternoon that he dropped the charges of murder and grand larceny against MacCoy Johnson due to concerns he had about lingering questions regarding potential forensic evidence in the case.

Johnson, 43, had been scheduled for a jury trial Wednesday in connection with the death of 39-year-old Felice Hickey, whose son found her on the bedroom floor of their apartment in the Clairmont complex. He has been held at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail on the charges since June 11.

Former York-Poquoson Commonwealth's Attorney Eileen Addison conducted a preliminary hearing on the charges in September, where investigators laid out a time line that would have put Johnson near Hickey's apartment around the time of the murder. But there was no murder weapon that could link Johnson to the crime, nor were there any witnesses who saw him with Hickey on the day of her death, or even at the Clairmont apartment complex.

Hahn said his decision to dismiss the charges stems from two key pieces of evidence that will take the state forensic lab several months to conduct DNA testing on, including a hair found in Hickey's hand as well as a knife taken from Johnson's home. The lab previously deemed the hair unsuitable for nuclear DNA testing, but Hahn said that it could be tested for mitochondrial DNA. The knife, which appeared to have blood on it, had not been tested to confirm the substance was blood, or if the blood belonged to Hickey or Johnson.

With only 34 days until the expiration of the speedy trial rule, Hahn said he felt it was best to dismiss the charges, pending the outcome of the forensic testing. If he hadn't, he would have risked losing the case at trial, or the charges could have been dismissed permanently under the speedy trial rule.

There is no jeopardy attached to the charges since Johnson was not tried and there is no statute of limitations on felony charges in Virginia. Hahn said he can bring back the charges against Johnson at any time if he feels he has enough evidence to go forward with prosecuting the case.

"I think a judge and jury would want answers in a circumstantial case," he said. "The only way to ensure we could charge the defendant again and put him through trial would be to release him until we have the proper forensic evidence and answers to some open questions."